It still could take a little time. I started from zero with a touch of bad but mostly no credit. I got a rediculous card at first with high interest and monthly and yearly fees. Soon as my credit built up with some payments, yours isnt terrible, mine was in the 5's, I was able to get a better card. Dont spend much of your available credit. REALLY try and keep it lower than 30% and your uliliztion will look better and help your score rather quickly. im my case opening a new account with a higher ballance and transfering my debt to it (15 months 0% interest but was a 3% fee to do it) saved a lot of money over paying a couple of cards at 20-24% interest. If you have a good utilization % then you might even close the old account but if you are looking at a big purchase soon then it may be better to keep it open. Either way, my closing that horrible card actually made my score rise because of the newer better replacement card showing up. Again mine was in the 5's so it took a bit for new expanded credit acceptance but once it did it is currently going up very quick and am almost 700's. Id plan on a year though if you have negative stuff but you are ahead of me with your starting score already.

I do not agree with the secured card info you've provided. They are great tools when used correctly. You can find one with no/small annual fee. The interest rate won't come into play if you pay your balance in full each month. Even if you don't pay in full, the interest on a very low balance is a non-factor. Alomst any credit union will allow you to open an account with as little as $5 and secured card with $300/500. My card is $500 and I never charge more than $150(30%). It takes will power to not max it out. You don;t want to fall back into old habits (if that is what got you into this situation in the first place).

You might be used to checking out at a store and being asked if you’d like to open a credit card. While these credit cards come with really high interest rates and are great tools to tempt you into buying items you don’t need, there is a big perk to store credit cards: they’re more likely to approve people with low credit scores. Just be sure to only use the card to make one small purchase a month and then pay it off on time and in full. Unsubscribe to emails about deals and don’t even carry it around everyday in your wallet if you can’t resist the desire to spend. Read more here.
I have approximate $15,000 in high interest credit card debt and just spinning my wheels making minimum monthly payments. My credit is borderline fair/good. Would credit counseling help me pay this off quicker?? I just recently leased a brand new car for 3 years and when the time comes to trade it in or finance it and keep it I want my credit to be okay to do so. What do you recommend for me??
The best way to improve your score is to have good behavior reported every single month. For example, you can take out a secured credit card and use it monthly. Charge no more than 10% of the available credit limit, and pay the balance in full and on time every month. Your credit score will improve as your negative information ages and your credit report fills with positive information.
It should go without saying, but, another quick tip for fast credit repair is through focusing on eliminating outstanding debt. Furthermore, if you have outstanding debt, the idea of opening new credit lines should go out the window. It’s more important, as a responsible borrower, to handle the financial matters at hand and eliminate any outstanding debt first. Through taking the time to do this, you can significantly improve your credit score and likelihood of getting approved or credit increases, all of which can help with credit utilization, enhancing your efforts of fast credit repair!

I had a $10,000 surgery when my medical insurance lapsed. I had to fill out a form with the hospital that stated I could not afford to pay it and they forgave it/never went on my credit. If you make under a certain income, the hospital should help you get those off, call the hospital and ask. It may be too late since it’s in collections already, if that’s the case, don’t pay it because it won’t change the negative impact since it’s already in collections. Wait for it to fall off.